There exist many different bottle feeders on the market some of which are available with product already contained therein. Others are sold empty and the consumer fills them for use. In either situation but more so as to the former where baby formulae, or the like may be involved, it is important that the integrity of the product is assured. In this regard, it is desirable that the content of the bottle be maintained in a vacuum as is common in the packaging of food.
Typically, in the sale of baby formulae, juice or the like where a bottle container is used, the bottle is sold without the nipple. This requires the separate purchase of a nipple and a hold-down cap which is used to secure the nipple on the bottle. This is obviously not as convenient as the purchasing of a single self-contained unit which includes the nipple component.
While such a single unit is desirable, it is also desirable that the contents of the bottle be maintained in a vacuum prior to use to insure the quality of the product. While the placing of the content of a bottle under negative pressure is readily attended to, the combination of bottle and nipple will obviously be more complicated. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide for a feeder bottle wherein a combination bottle and nipple are sold as a unit with a tamper evident overcap. It is preferred to provide such a unit which will include the product or formulae to be dispensed.
It is further preferred to provide such a unit vacuumed packed with an indicator to indicate when the vacuum seal is broken.
The present invention provides a bottle feeder which includes both a bottle and nipple in a tamper evident vacuum sealed arrangement. In this regard the bottle includes two threaded portions--one on top of the other. The lower thread is for securing a plastic overcap which will contain the nipple therein along with a hold down cap.
The overcap is threaded down on the bottle neck resulting in a tamper evident band being captured by a retaining means. The contents of the bottle along with the overcap is placed in a vacuum. Provided in the overcap is a metal button down "dud detector" or "pop-up" indicator which serves to indicate when the vacuum seal of the unit has been broken. This may occur as a result of improper packaging, spoilage, defects or tampering. In addition, the tamper evident band will indicate whether the overcap has been removed. Accordingly, this arrangement serves to provide two means of indicating tampering and/or defective sealing.
If the condition of the unit is satisfactory, the overcap may be unscrewed and the nipple and hold-down cap withdrawn and threaded down on the upper set of threads prior to use.